Hydrogen molecules and atoms are used in many commercial and industrial applications. Generally, hydrogen may be used for upgrading petroleum feed stock to more useful products. In addition, hydrogen is used in many chemical reactions, such as reducing or synthesizing compounds. Particularly, hydrogen is used as a primary chemical reactant in the production of useful commercial products, such as cyclohexane, ammonia, and methanol. Moreover, hydrogen itself is quickly becoming a fuel of choice because it reduces green house emissions. Particularly, hydrogen can be used in fuel cells and other similar applications to produce a substantially clean source of electricity for powering industrial machines and automobiles.
Research pertaining to the production of hydrogen from biomass using various means of gasification has attracted much attention in recent years. A common problem encountered in this field of research is the difficulty in removing carbon monoxide from a hydrogen gas stream. This process can be time-consuming, expensive and is a major reason why the commercialized production of hydrogen, using such techniques, has not been successful.
A conventional method of producing hydrogen from water using zinc metal catalysis can be represented by the chemical equation, as shown below:Zn+H2O→ZnO+H2 
However, in practice it is found that the production of hydrogen using this method has a relatively low yield. Typically only 18% of zinc is consumed even when the reaction is performed using superheated steam at 700° C. This occurs due to the rapid formation of a passivating layer of zinc oxide on the surface of the zinc particle thus preventing the zinc metal below from reacting with the superheated steam.
One method for overcoming the problem with passivating layer formation is to use nano zinc that is smaller in diameter than the thickness of the passivating zinc oxide layer. However the use of nano zinc is extremely expensive rendering the method less cost effective.
Due to the high costs, the difficulty in purification and the adverse environmental factors associated with hydrogen production there is a need for an improved method of producing hydrogen gas.